5 Ways to Stay Motivated to Work Out by Yourself

For many people, finding new ways to motivate yourself to work out is nothing but an uphill battle. Those who wish to shed fat and build lean muscle have to take proper fitness decisions every day. Without motivation, it is very easy to lose your way and workout without planning or strategy. Here are some ways by which you can motivate yourself to exercise.

Schedule the workouts

It is rare that you will feel any urge to work out, especially after a long and hard day at work. To keep yourself motivated, schedule the times of your workout into your daily planner. You need to take some time out for exercising, and stick to your schedule. Otherwise, you will merely cheat your body.

Purchase smaller clothes

Buy clothes that are one or two sizes smaller than your present size, or look for clothing that accent a specific muscle group that you are exercising. When you try to fit into a slimmer pair of jeans and they feel a little tight, you will be amazed at the kind of motivation you feel to exercise. You will start looking forward to your next exercise session.

Take before-after photos

If you have gained a lot of weight in the last few years, take out an old photo of your trimmer self. Paste in on the mirror beside one of your newest photos. You will feel hugely motivated by your unflattering photo of present times when contrasted by the earlier picture, and your mind will simply crave the next workout session to burn off the excess baggage as soon as possible. A few more runs on the treadmill, a couple of reps more on the pull-up bar etc. will feel like nothing.

Reward yourself

Every time you have a good workout and find yourself losing some weight, reward yourself by watching a movie, reading a new book, going to a friend’s place to hang out, etc. With these small rewards, you can give yourself a huge motivation for working out and get more disciplined with your approach. However, you should not reward yourself with foods. Otherwise, all the good work will be for nothing.

Do not track weight every day
The biggest way to lose motivation for workouts is to look at the scale everyday and finding little or no change in body weight. Try to work out as intensely as possible, and only weigh yourself once a week.